Shūkurō Tsukishima
Shūkurō Tsukishima (月島 秀九郎, Tsukishima Shūkurō) is a Fullbringer and a former member of Xcution. AppearanceEdit Tsukishima is an extremely tall young man with brown eyes and wavy black hair that is at shoulder length. He wears a long-sleeved collared shirt with suspenders and dark pants. He has a long scar running vertically along the side of his left eye, which comes from a wound that he got as a child.2 PersonalityEdit Tsukishima is cold and collected in most things he does, normally appearing calm and even carefree. Even when overwhelmed and injured in battle, he is able to maintain his composed nature.3 Taking advantage of this unemotional nature, he is very cautious in battle, never acting without purpose or a plan.4 He is sociopathic and amoral in nature, completely uncaring about the emotional torment that those indirectly affected by his Fullbring go through, even enjoying it as he mocks their pain.5 He also appears sadistic, purposely pushing the victims' trauma until they suffer mental breakdowns from the fake memories starting to conflict with their real ones.6 Despite his calm and sociopathic tendencies, Tsukishima is very devoted to Kūgo Ginjō, being taught how to survive by him. Upon Ginjō's death, Tsukishima flew into a frenzied rage and attempted to kill Ichigo Kurosaki in revenge, trying to throw Riruka Dokugamine aside for blocking his strike, and cried in anguish for his mentor for "not teaching them what to do if he died".7 HistoryEdit As a child, Tsukishima met a Shinigami, Kūgo Ginjō, who, after discovering that Tsukishima was alone like him, cheered him up and told him that from that day on, Tsukishima would come with him.8 From that point on, he taught Tsukishima how to use his powers and how to fight.9Some time later, they met other Fullbringers,10 namely Riruka, Yukio Hans Vorarlberna, Jackie Tristan, and Giriko Kutsuzawa, whom Kūgo convinced to join him, forming Xcution.11 According to Kūgo, Tsukishima gathered several different people with Fullbring abilities some time ago together in order to find a way for them to erase their powers. He formulated the plan to pass their powers on to a Substitute Shinigami, forming the group, Xcution. However, once this process began, he had a change of heart and used his abilities to kill the Substitute Shinigami and those who had been relieved of their powers. Now Ginjō has theorized that Tsukishima's new goal is to keep Ichigo Kurosaki away from them.1213 It is later revealed that this backstory is a lie created by Tsukishima's Fullbring in order to thoroughly deceive Ichigo Kurosaki, even going so far as to alter Kūgo's memories since Kūgo was horrible at acting, as Tsukishima claimed.14 Tsukishima is stated by Kūgo to have psychologically broken many people affected by his Fullbring down by adding new and larger pieces of information into their memory, which apparently causes the person inflicted to be 'useless' afterwards.15 Seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, Xcution fell under the influence of Tsukishima's Fullbring, to make Tsukishima look like the sole villain, as part of their plan to steal Ichigo Kurosaki's Fullbring to strengthen their own.1617 PlotEdit The Lost Substitute Shinigami arcEdit While Uryū Ishida is waiting outside of Ichigo Kurosaki's house, he spots Tsukishima standing on a nearby rooftop. Tsukishima leaves, causing Uryū to follow him. Using his speed, Tsukishima is able to catch Uryū off-guard and wound his right shoulder.1819 Sometime after his attack on Uryū, Tsukishima sends Moe Shishigawara to attack Orihime Inoue, but says that he does not need to do anything, because he believes that Shishigawara will not harm girls.20 As Shishigawara is about to fight Orihime, Tsukishima arrives and tells Orihime that he was the one who attacked Uryū.21 Tsukishima introduces himself to Orihime, but Shishigawara interrupts their conversation, insisting that he will be able to take care of Orihime for him and tries to fight her. Tsukishima tells him to go home, but Shishigawara refuses. Tsukishima closes his book and reminds Shishigawara that he told him that he didn't need to do anything, and asks why he is still there. Shishigawara tells him that he wants to be useful to him. Tsukishima then casually remarks that he lost his page and takes out his bookmark, turning it into a sword. He asks Shishigawara if he minds taking responsibility for his lost page. Upon seeing the sword, Orihime asks him if it is a Zanpakutō. Tsukishima replies that it is not; it is actually his Fullbring, Book of the End. He tells Orihime that she can relax, as he does not plan to harm her at this time; instead, he is going to punish Shishigawara, who cannot follow his orders. Orihime moves herself in front of Shishigawara, which causes Tsukishima to remark that she is good-natured to the point where she does not like seeing even an enemy hurt. Orihime denies that being the reason; she informs him that since he attacked Uryū, she cannot let him leave.22 He merely replies that her reasoning is boring before turning away from her. When Orihime goes to use her powers, he attacks her from behind and appears to seriously wound her, however, she is shown without any damage moments later.2324 Moe sneezes on Tsukishima while he is eating a meal, prompting Tsukishima to pin him to the table with a fork and ask if he may continue speaking. He goes on to say that Moe no longer needs to do anything regarding Orihime and insists that he stop calling himself a henchman. Though Moe protests, Tsukishima says they already have her and there is no need of further contact. He then wonders whether to attack Yasutora Sado or Ichigo next, asking what Kūgo would say if he were to meddle with Ichigo directly.25 Later, during Ichigo's training with Jackie, Tsukishima arrives at Xcution's base and cuts through its door. Kūgo is shocked to see his arrival. Tsukishima remarks that it's been a while since he saw the members of Xcution, to which he hopes Giriko Kutsuzawa is not drinking too much and tells Yukio to read more. Kūgo demands to know why he came here for, but Tsukishima simply states that he cannot see Jackie or Riruka. Tsukishima spots the fish tank and presumes that is where they are hiding and Kūgo warns Tsukishima. Tsukishima attacks the fish tank and Kūgo yells at him not to, but it is already too late as the fish tank is already sliced in half. Suddenly, a burst of black energy comes out of the fish tank to which Tsukishima says is interesting as he sees Ichigo in a Shinigami's shihakushō formed from black energy.26 Tsukishima observes Ichigo's appearance and compliments him on training while inside Riruka's'Dollhouse', stating that he's surprised Ichigo has come so far in mastering his new abilities already. He is mockingly offended when Ichigo inquires his name, wondering why the members of Xcution hadn't informed the former Substitute Shinigami about him. Before he can finish introducing himself, he is attacked by Sado who is trying to protect Ichigo. However, once Ichigo realizes his identity, after Tsukishima confirms he attacked Uryū and Orihime, they get into a brief fight. At first, Tsukishima compliments Ichigo's abilities, but attacks him to show how incomplete they still are. He forces Ichigo's Fullbring to recede to the point he can't break his fall before Tsukishima moves in with a powerful strike. Before it can hurt Ichigo, Tsukishima is surprised to see that his sword is blocked by Kūgo.27 Tsukishima then mocks Kūgo, asking if he is really trying to interfere to which Kūgo says that Tsukishima is the one who is interfering. Tsukishima tells Kūgo that if he fights him, he is most certainly going to die. They both then clash swords and fight. Kūgo tries to attack Tsukishima from above the head, but he dodges this and attempts to cut Kūgo from below; Kūgo jumps up into the air and evades the attack and then unleashes an energy attack onto Tsukishima. Tsukishima comes out from the dust unharmed and manages to cut Kūgo across the right side of his face. Ichigo then jumps up and attacks Tsukishima from behind. This lightly burns his sword wielding arm. Tsukishima asks how Ichigo can evolve so well so quickly and comments that Ichigo is becoming much closer to the heights of his previous powers. Their conversation is then interrupted by Yukio, who uses his Fullbring to stop him from interacting with Ichigo.28 Tsukishima asks Yukio if it would not have been a better idea to lock him away instead. Yukio tells him that he is sorry to disappoint, but he does not have enough batteries left to save him and that he did not save Ichigo for the reasons Tsukishima thought. Yukio then tells him that a crowd is starting to gather and someone is likely to see Tsukishima, which will be inconvenient for him. Riruka then shows up, holding her love gun to his back. He comments on it and Riruka says that he knows what it can do since he invented it. She then tells him to get lost and Yukio says they will be leaving and taking Ichigo with them and that Tsukishima should stay there if he wants to be exposed.29 As Yukio and everyone leaves, Tsukishima attacks Sado, piercing him, but leaving no mark.30 As Ichigo returns home from his training, Yuzu confronts him at the door and says they have a surprise guest. She takes him to the room that the guest is waiting in and tells Ichigo it is cousin Shū and Ichigo stares, horrified as he is confronted by Tsukishima. Yuzu says she bets Ichigo is totally surprised as they have not seen him since Grandpa Rin's funeral and it brings back memories. Tsukishima greets the shocked Ichigo and says it has been a while.31 Karin and Yuzu explain to Ichigo how Tsukishima got there and Tsukishima apologizes for having annoyed them. Ichigo grabs him by the collar, demanding an explanation for why he is there. Karin and Yuzu try to get Ichigo off of him, but the doorbell rings and Tsukishima asks Yuzu to get it, saying it must be Keigo and the others. Tatsuki begins to lecture Ichigo on staying out so late, and Tsukishima tells Ichigo he called everyone, and says he should call Sado and Orihime as well. As he is on the phone, Ichigo attacks him, slamming him into a wall and causing him to bleed. Tatsuki berates Ichigo for attacking his relative. Ichigo then flees. Tsukishima then goes after Ichigo at Ikumi Unagiya's house and Ikumi says he is there to cheer Ichigo up. Ichigo then flees once more.32 After Yukio leads Ichigo and Ginjō to the house where Tsukishima is, he walks out to calmly greet them. Ichigo begins to attack him on sight, only to be stopped by Ginjō. Unfazed, Tsukishima urges them to relax, saying that he is unarmed. He then states he doesn't want to fight them, and invites them inside. Ichigo thinks the house is trapped, but Tsukishima says that he hopes Ichigo is joking, because if he wanted them to fall into traps, he would have set some in the forest. Yukio agrees and tells Ichigo and Ginjō to just enter. As Ichigo flees once again from the sight of his family and friends under Tsukishima's power, he follows Ichigo to the room where the Xcution members are. He says he thought Ichigo hated him, but that must have been a mistake, if Ichigo came all the way to see them. In the middle of talking Ginjō appears, having destroyed the stairs so that no one, except Yukio, could follow them up, and urges Ichigo to fight. Ichigo activates his Fullbring, and Tsukishima activates his, but he is taken by surprise, as Ichigo dodges his strike, and then slices off Tsukishima's arm. He congratulates Ichigo on mastering his Fullbring in such a short time. As Ichigo states he came to kill Tsukishima, Chad and Orihime arrive by Tsukishima's side.33 After Orihime restores Tsukishima's lost arm, Tsukishima and Ichigo continue their battle and Tsukishima berates Ichigo constantly. Ichigo, however, gains a small advantage against him and surprises him when he unleashes a Getsuga Tenshō, however, Tsukishima manages to redirect it. Tsukishima, in his thoughts, said that even in Fullbring, he can still use Getsuga Tenshō and that his attack speed is much greater than he anticipated, and as expected, even despair helped him to complete his power. Ichigo tries to finish him off again, but Chad intervenes and blocks his attacks. Ichigo yells at Tsukishima, demanding that he stop hiding behind his friends and face him, and Tsukishima gets behind Ichigo to attack him, but Ginjō takes the attack instead.34 Ichigo rushes to Kūgo and Tsukishima attempts to attack Ichigo, but he is blocked and knocked backwards. Uryū Ishida arrives, claiming that Kūgo had attacked him. He then fires his bow at Kūgo, but Tsukishima attacks Uryū from behind.35 After Kūgo explains what happened when he attacked Uryū, Tsukishima said he only cut Kūgo because he was bad at acting and states that Kūgo started calling Ichigo "Kurosaki" again after he cut him again. Then, after Kūgo takes Ichigo's Fullbring, the pair begins to walk off and Ichigo starts to cry. Tsukishima turns around and says that he feels bad because Ichigo is crying, to which Kūgo tells him to let Ichigo cry as he is no longer useful to them and will be unlikely that they will ever meet him again. Once they start walking away, a burst of energy erupts behind them, forcing Kūgo and Tsukishima to look behind surprising them as they see Ichigo in his Shinigami uniform.36 After Orihime and Chad see the Shinigami, thinking they are here to kill Kūgo, Tsukishima appears behind them. He asks them what is wrong and if they are unsure about anything in the past. He says this is strange and questions if they trust their memories of him. He says that he protected Orihime from her parents and raised her and that he gave Chad that pendant. He is interrupted by Kūgo who says that if Tsukishima tries to add more changes to their past this late, they will become useless. Kūgo asks him if he remembers how many people he has broken by doing this. Orihime and Chad then start to break as they begin to doubt their memories of Tsukishima, but they are knocked out by Urahara and Isshin. He looks at Urahara glumly as Urahara thanks him for making the two so easy to knock out.37 After Kūgo gives the members of Xcution some of Ichigo's power, Tsukishima approaches him and asks if he is going to give Moe any of that power, saying leaving friends out is bad. Kūgo says that Moe's ability would be a pain to them if it were strengthened and tells Tsukishima to kill him when the fight is over. Tsukishima sighs and says he found it to be an interesting ability.38 He later enters a chat room, prepared to face Byakuya Kuchiki in battle.39 In the chat room, Tsukishima asks if Byakuya really has time to be staring at the moon. Byakuya turns around and tells him that it is fortunate that he is his opponent. Byakuya says that Ichigo is too lenient and would not be able to bear his blade for the sole purpose of striking Tsukishima down. Kenpachi is even less suited as his only wish is the thrill of battle and that is not suited for Tsukishima's ability. Tsukishima responds that Byakuya is acting as if he will not be cut and goes to strike Byakuya. Byakuya blocks with Senbonzakura without turning around and tells him that taking away the bonds of camaraderie is the height of cowardice. He says that it is a lack of shame that is deserving of being struck down. Tsukishima says he is there and tells him to strike him down. Byakuya tells Tsukishima he is there to kill him and he sends his Shikai at Tsukishima.40 Knowing that Byakuya's Shikai makes it difficult to get close to him, Tsukishima begins thinking of how to handle him. He then begins striking the ground. Afterwards, Byakuya steps on a trigger in the floor, causing a large wall to emerge before collapsing on Byakuya, who manages to dodge it. Byakuya launches his Shikai again, prompting Tsukishima to strike the attack away. Byakuya asked when Tsukishima set up that trap, to which he responds long ago. Tsukishima then reveals that his Fullbring can effect any target, even inanimate ones. He appears behind Byakuya. Byakuya strikes at Tsukishima, but he easily catches his sword arm. Revealing that his Fullbring also cut through Byakuya's Shikai, he now has altered its past; so for Tsukishima, Byakuya's attacks are fully known and boring to him.41 Tsukishima lands a direct blow, slashing Byakuya across the chest. He retaliates with a strike of his, only for Tsukishima to easily dodge. Tsukishima reveals that he is fully aware of Byakuya's "Hurtless Area", knowing that the best tactic against his Shikai and Bankai is to get in at least 85 cm of Byakuya's person to avoid damage. He goes on to tell Byakuya that any technique Byakuya now uses is useless because Tsukishima "helped Byakuya develop them". Amazed that Tsukishima has learned so much about his abilities, Byakuya surmises that even his Bankai attacks will have no effect on Tsukishima, which the Fullbringer plainly agrees on.42 Byakuya proceeds to reseal Senbonzakura to remove the "Sheltered Zone", but Tsukishima then shows the immense cutting power of his Fullbring, slicing Byakuya's blade cleanly in half. While Tsukishima mocks Byakuya, he calmly picks up the severed blade and drops it with his sword, activating his Bankai. Tsukishima is indifferent, still saying it is boring, but surprised by Byakuya taking the risk of allowing his blades to enter the area. While Tsukishima applauds Byakuya's ingenuity and improved speed with his Bankai, he exploits the Bankai's speed by moving close enough to let the blades strike Byakuya's arm, greatly injuring it. Byakuya then raises his injured arm. While Tsukishima believes it to be a desperate attempt with Kidō, Byakuya strikes fast, impaling Tsukishima through his chest, who is horrified at the feat. It is then revealed that Byakuya intentionally let his arm be struck so he could discreetly grab some of his blades to launch at Tsukishima. Tsukishima admits to being surprised by Byakuya's new tactic before collapsing.43 As the gravely wounded Tsukishima lies on the ground with his eyes closed, he continues to feed the effect that his Fullbring has on Byakuya. He "reminds" Byakuya of his debts, questioning if he is pained after leaving the Fullbringer to die. While Byakuya admits to this as well as his gratitude, he also notes that Tsukishima is an enemy of Ichigo Kurosaki and states to have no qualms striking down Tsukishima on that reasoning. In response, Tsukishima opens his eyes and clenches one of his fists.44Later on, soon after Kūgo is struck down by Ichigo, Tsukishima ambushes and attempts to kill Ichigo. However, Riruka stands in his way and takes the attack, though only receiving a gash in her collarbone in the process. She chastises him for actually attempting to kill Ichigo. However, he refuses to hear her out, instead going into a screaming fit of grief and pleading for the fallen Kūgo not to die. Riruka harshly reprimands him for it, reminding him that it was Ichigo and not the Fullbringers that saved Kūgo.7 Some time afterwards, Tsukishima stands alone, crying and grieving heavily over Ginjō's death while slowly succumbing to his wounds. When Shishigawara shows up, however, he calms down and seems to finally resolve himself.45 Shishigawara carries him out of the forest, still expressing loyalty and respect to him despite his own fight with Ikkaku Madarame. Tsukishima realizes that he was never alone at all as he believed, sincerely thanking Shishigawara for his actions.46 He eventually succumbs to his wounds and dies, as Ichigo mentions to Yamamoto that his family and friends are back to normal.47 The Thousand-Year Blood War arcEdit Tsukishima later appears in Soul Society alongside Kūgo and Giriko and is saved in Rukongai by Kūkaku Shiba. At the Great Kūkaku Training Hall, they train with Ganju Shiba to prepare for the upcoming battle with the Wandenreich.48 InventionsEdit Love Gun (ラブ・ガン, Rabu Gan): A heart-shaped device with wing-like protrusions on both sides and a liquid containing vial that juts out of the back. It is used by Riruka Dokugamine49 and is able to fire miniaturized objects contained inside it which then increase in size.50 Powers & AbilitiesEdit Expert Swordsman: Tsukishima is skilled in swordsmanship, enough to battle Ichigo Kurosaki and Kūgo Ginjō, defeating the former, albeit without his Shinigami powers and only when he had an incomplete Fullbring51, and battling the latter to a stand still.52 Enhanced Speed: Tsukishima has remarkable speed; his speed is far above that of a normal Human. Tsukishima is fast enough to strike his target before they can even react.185330 Even a Shunpo Master such as Byakuya Kuchiki is forced to keep his guard up against Tsukishima. Tsukishima is also able to dodge fast attacks like Byakuya's Shikai.54 Enhanced Endurance: Tsukishima has shown a high tolerance for pain. Even after losing his arm, he only showed moderate pain while staying calm.3 Even after being fatally injured by Byakuya, he still was able to make a surprise attack on Ichigo and try to cut him.55 Enhanced Durability: Tsukishima has shown to be quite durable. In his second battle with Ichigo, he was capable of withstanding being kicked into the roof of his mansion from a great height without suffering any serious injuries.56 Spiritual Awareness: Tsukishima has enough spiritual power to be able to see Shinigami.57 Even at a young age he could see them.2 He is also able to sense a Jibakurei and tell what direction it is in.58 FullbringEdit Book of the End (ブック · オブ · ジ · エンド, Bukku obu ji Endo): Tsukishima's Fullbring manifests itself in his bookmark, which he can transform into a katana that has a bookmark-shaped tsuba.59 Kūgo Ginjō remarks that Book of the End is a sword with high attack capability that can literally cut through anything.60 Book of the End is capable of two types of cut: one which can injure or kill an opponent and one which can insert Tsukishima into the target's past.61 In addition, he is capable of doing both simultaneously.62 * Insert Presence: Book of the End has the ability to split the past of whomever it cuts. This ability works not by manipulating time and memories, but by literally inserting Tsukishima's presence into the victim’s history. Victims of this power recognize Tsukishima as someone closely connected to their personal lives, whether it is as family, friend, or lover.63 He can even usurp the roles of other individuals in the victims’ pasts.64Likewise, Tsukishima gains comprehensive knowledge of his victims’ memories. This power takes hold regardless of whether the victim trusted Tsukishima before being cut. Tsukishima can continue to modify his victims’ pasts even after cutting them, however, if they realize that their altered pasts are inconsistent with reality, they are put at risk of mental breakdown.15 By cutting an affected individual again, Book of the End’s effect on that person is dispelled.65 Book of the End’s power also works on inanimate objects. For example, by cutting the ground, he can falsify its history to alter its structure and set traps there as though he had done so long ago. By cutting a person’s weapon, he can gain complete knowledge of its techniques, including their weaknesses.66 As with all Fullbrings, if Tsukishima dies, all traces of his ability vanish, returning his victims to normal.67 CensorshipEdit Tsukishima's injury that came about as a result of Ichigo Kurosaki's Fullbring was toned down in the anime. In the manga, he cut off his entire arm33, whereas in the anime he simply cut his arm slightly.68 TriviaEdit * The book that Tsukishima used to read is "The Return of Aion" by George Kirian.69 * During their fight, Ichigo burns the right sleeve of Tsukishima's shirt, however, the sleeve appears undamaged after this event takes place.70 * In the anime, the rope of his sword is colored purple, while in the manga it is colored green.71 QuotesEdit * (To Kūgo Ginjō) "Why did you have to die? Why would you do that?! Why?!! Why would you do that, Ginjō?!! Ginjō, you taught me how to use my power. You taught me how to fight. So why, Ginjō. Why?! Why did you never teach me what I should do when you were gone?!"72 Battles & EventsEdit * Back From Black * Orihime's Encounter * Fullbring Training, Round 2 * Ichigo Kurosaki & Kūgo Ginjō vs. Shūkurō Tsukishima * Ichigo Kurosaki & Kūgo Ginjō vs. Shūkurō Tsukishima & Xcution * Death & Strawberry: Deathberry Returns * Byakuya Kuchiki vs. Shūkurō Tsukishima * Ichigo Kurosaki & Uryū Ishida vs. Kūgo Ginjō * The Royal Guard Arrive